18TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION ESTABLISHED 1998 AUGUST 2015 ISSUE 96 PRICE $8.25 (INCL GST) Legend of the Seas Pages 32-34 A School Holiday Family Cruise Page 44 Insignia Pages 30-31 Featuring a comprehensive coverage of Global Cruising for Cruise Passengers, the Trade and the Industry www.cruisingnews.com THE GRE ATES T SHOW IS EARTH Few places put on a greater show than Europe. And no one can show it to you like Princess®. Explore the Mediterranean, from sunny shores to rustic islands. Or discover the cobbled laneways and vast museums of cities like Copenhagen and Tallinn. This issue This FINLAND Oslo Helsinki FRANCE Florence/Pisa Stockholm (Livorno) NORWAY (Nynäshamn) St. Petersburg Genoa Tallinn Marseille Rome SWEDEN ESTONIA (Civitavecchia) RUSSIA Barcelona Istanbul Naples SPAIN GREECE DENMARK ITALY Aegean Sea TURKEY Copenhagen Mediterranean Sea Athens SICILY (Piraeus) Kusadasi Berlin Tunis/Carthage Mykonos (Warnemünde) (La Goulette) Palermo CRETE Heraklion GERMANY Overnight in St. Petersburg TUNISIA Regal Princess Royal Princess - 14 Day Mediterranean Medley SCANDINAVIA11 Day Scandinavia & Russia AND (rtCopenhagen)016_R2_CA RUSSIA MEDITERRANEAN (BAR to ATH)016_R1_CA MEDLEY 11 nights 14 nights Regal Princess® Royal Princess® Round trip from Copenhagen Between Barcelona and Athens (Piraeus) 2016 Departure Dates 2016 Departure Dates 1 May, 12 May, 23 May, 3 Jun, 14 Jun, 25 Jun, 7 May, 28 May, 25 Jun, 16 Jul, 13 Aug, 3 Sep 6 Jul, 17 Jul, 28 Jul, 8 Aug, 19 Aug, 30 Aug Interior Balcony Mini-Suite Interior Balcony Mini-Suite from* from* from* from* from* from* Launch Launch fares~ $2,369 $2,889 $3,419 fares~ $2,919 $3,759 $4,389 Sale Sale fares $1,999 $2,599 $3,099 fares $2,749 $3,549 $3,949 +Fares are per person twin share based on1 May 2016 departure only. +Fares are per person twin share based on7 May 2016 departure only. BOOK NOW! Visit your Travel Agent | 1300 385 631 | www.princess.com *Fares are cruise only, per person, in AUD, in complete twin accommodation, based on lead interior, oceanview, balcony and mini-suite staterooms available at time of printing,inclusive of all taxes, fees and port expenses (which are subject to change). Offer ends 31 Oct 2015 unless sold out prior. Princess Cruises has set aside a reasonable number of staterooms which are available at these fares. Once these staterooms are sold, fares may revert to a higher fare, but may also be discounted. Valid for new bookings and not combinable with any other offer. Fares subject to availability. Some oceanview staterooms have obstructed views. +Fare based on specific departure dates only. Higher fares may apply to other departure dates listed. Whilst information is correct at time of publication, offer may be withdrawn or varied at any time without notice. ~Comparison launch fares are based on fares launched into the market from March 2015. Contact Princess Cruises for single and third- and fourth-berth guest fares. Currency onboard is in US dollars. To be read in conjunction with the Booking and Passage conditions available at princess.com/legal/passage_contract/index.jsp which passengers will be bound by. A 1.5% surcharge will apply to all payments made by credit card for direct bookings made via our call centre and website. Travel agents may charge additional fees - check with your travel agent. Carnival plc trading as Princess Cruises. ABN 23 107 998 443 18TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION ESTABLISHED 1998 AUGUST 2015 ISSUE 96 PRICE $8.25 (INCL GST) THE More than one million Australian cruise tourists could be sailing to the South Pacific within five years opening up potential economic opportunities in Vanuatu tourism, Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry said recently in Port Vila. Ms Sherry, who was in Vanuatu for a series of conferences and a keynote business partnership event on Legend of the Seas GRE ATES T Pages 32-34 P&O Cruises’ Pacific Dawn, said the South Pacific has A School Holiday Family Cruise Page 44 traditionally had the biggest share of cruise itineraries from Australia. Last year, 400,000 of the milestone one million Australians who cruised, sailed to the South Pacific – with most of them visiting SHOW IS destinations in Vanuatu. “This region is now the fastest growing cruise market in the world and at 4.2 per cent Australia has the highest market penetration based on population,” Ms Sherry said. Insignia Pages 30-31 “Ten per cent market penetration in Australia is achievable within five years, the Featuring a comprehensive coverage of Global Cruising for Cruise Passengers, the Trade and the Industry www.cruisingnews.com equivalent of three million passengers a year – with more than a million travelling to the South Pacific based on current itineraries. Such a large number of cruise tourists EARTH Front Cover Photos represent a huge economic opportunity for Vanuatu and its tourism sector. Years ago – Jonathan Crabbe and Raelene James we made a commitment to Vanuatu to ensure that island communities shared in the Few places put on a greater show than Europe. economic benefits of cruising and there has been good progress in this regard. We will MSC to homeport in Cuba ................4 continue to work with the government of Vanuatu, international agencies and Vanuatu And no one can show it to you like Princess®. P&O celebrates 5 years of Salt Grill ......5 communities to make the most of the emerging opportunities linked to cruise tourism.” Explore the Mediterranean, from sunny shores MS Noordam arrives Ms Sherry met with local businesses hoping to join Vanuatu Water and Tanna Coffee in 25 October in Sydney .....................6 becoming suppliers to Carnival Australia brand ships. to rustic islands. Or discover the cobbled Carnival finalises contract ................7 Also with 120 Ni-Van crew already working on P&O Cruises’ three existing ships, Ms New ships for Viking Cruises, laneways and vast museums of cities like Sherry met with local educators and recruiters with the hope of increasing the number Copenhagen and Tallinn. Silversea, TUI and Virgin Cruises ..........8 of Ni-Van staff onboard. She pointed to a number of success stories where Ni-Van crew Coral Princess rebrands ..................12 had progressed to management roles onboard the ships. This issue This Hurtigruten’s new ship ....................14 Ms Sherry said the expected big increase in cruise River Cruise News .........................35 FINLAND tourists visiting Vanuatu in coming years underlined Oslo Helsinki FRANCE Florence/Pisa Seabourn farewells pioneering sisters ...42 Stockholm (Livorno) the need for local infrastructure investment which NORWAY (Nynäshamn) St. could support existing ports and open up new Petersburg Genoa Tallinn Marseille Rome destinations. SWEDEN ESTONIA (Civitavecchia) RUSSIA Barcelona Istanbul Carnival Australia would continue to do everything Naples SPAIN GREECE it could to assist Vanuatu to reap the benefits of the DENMARK ITALY Aegean Sea TURKEY surge in cruise tourism. Copenhagen Mediterranean Sea Athens Kusadasi SICILY (Piraeus) Ni Van Crew on P&O Cruises Pacific Dawn sing Vanuatu’s National Anthem. Berlin Tunis/Carthage Mykonos (Warnemünde) (La Goulette) Palermo In Australia the new Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) was CRETE Heraklion GERMANY Overnight in St. Petersburg TUNISIA unveiled on 1 July 2015, signalling a major change in the way Australia’s borders are managed. At Australia’s international airports SmartGates are Regal Princess Royal Princess - 14 Day Mediterranean Medley in operation which allows travellers departing and SCANDINAVIA11 Day Scandinavia & Russia AND (rtCopenhagen)016_R2_CA RUSSIA MEDITERRANEAN (BAR to ATH)016_R1_CA MEDLEY Pacific Jewel’s arriving in Australia to self-process through passport New Pantry 10 control. 11 nights 14 nights The system automates the border clearance checks usually conducted by a Border Force officer, making Royal Princess® it the smart way through the airport. We experienced Regal Princess® SmartGates recently both in Brisbane and the system Round trip from Copenhagen Between Barcelona and Athens (Piraeus) in New Zealand in Auckland and it was the smart way to go. 2016 Departure Dates 2016 Departure Dates In New Zealand the Government has decided to introduce a travel tax from 1 January 7 May, 28 May, 25 Jun, 16 Jul, 13 Aug, 3 Sep 2016. There was no consultation with the tourism sector. The sector is suggesting 1 May, 12 May, 23 May, 3 Jun, 14 Jun, 25 Jun, substantive analysis needs to be undertaken into the justification for the tax, what costs 6 Jul, 17 Jul, 28 Jul, 8 Aug, 19 Aug, 30 Aug are to be recovered and what the potential impacts may be and the introduction of the Travel Tax must be delayed at least until 1 January 2017 to allow this to take place. Interior Balcony Mini-Suite Interior Balcony Mini-Suite I have just attended the Cruise New Zealand Conference and this along with from* from* from* from* from* from* Visiting Colombo infrastructure, and the potential of the China market were talking points. Launch Launch 52 The Travel Tax is a significant cost imposition on the cruise industry. While schedules fares~ $2,369 $2,889 $3,419 fares~ $2,919 $3,759 $4,389 are largely committed for the next two seasons, international cruise companies have advised they are considering relocating ships away from New Zealand as early as the Sale Sale 2017/18 season because of this new tax. fares $1,999 $2,599 $3,099 fares $2,749 $3,549 $3,949 A tax increase in Alaska resulted in a 17% decline in cruise ship business. +Fares are per person twin share based on1 May 2016 departure only. +Fares are per person twin share based on7 May 2016 departure only. Cruise companies have advised that the Travel Tax discourages them from using Auckland as a homeport. Vessels based in Auckland, rather than Sydney, make a much greater economic contribution to New Zealand.